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Impressions: 2nd annual Pedal the Cause

Writer's picture: RyonRyon

Updated: Apr 4, 2020

29 September 2014

One week ago concluded the second annual Pedal the Cause. In lieu of a lengthy piece, I would like to present ideas / impressions that constitute small pictures of a larger portrait. And photos.

Temporary Pain

Let’s face it, riding 170 miles through mountainous territory is pretty hard regardless of the pace. There *will* be some pain and discomfort along the way. But, that’s sort of the point. Cancer patients go through tremendous pain and discomfort through the process of their disease and treatment, and a little bit of athletic-induced physical hardship is a great means to both empathize with cancer patients and to learn to appreciate our good health.

Cameraderie

Everyone at the Athletes’ Village in Temecula made the distance. Everyone had a story about their ride, about their life, and about cancer. Pedal the Cause brings together a truly impressive caliber of people that would be worth riding 170 miles and raising thousands of dollars to be able to spend an evening in the company of.

Health Promotion

Even if every research project funded by Pedal falls flat and fails to produce anything that will be of great value to cancer patients (a highly unlikely scenario), Pedal does one thing that is so essential: health promotion. There is one thing that we can never get back: time. None of us know with certainty how much time we have remaining in our lives. There are many things that are out of our control, but one thing that remains within our control is the QUALITY of that time, and aerobic exercise, specifically the promotion of a healthy-addictive habit like cycling, is a fantastic way to enhance the quality of anyone’s life, especially here in Southern California. (But keep that sunscreen close!) Cycling is a means for many people to make lasting, impactful habitual changes in their lives, and I am always so thrilled to hear of people who got back into, or started cycling just to partake in Pedal the Cause.

Quality and Speed of Research Funding

A lot of cancer charities give money to research, though some give only a fraction, and some give none at all, benefitting from the illusion of giving to research. Pedal the Cause gives all proceeds to cancer research in San Diego. It funds the type of collaborative, high-risk, high-reward research that is needed to make a dent in cancer. There is also the aspect of time: Federal funding usually requires years of preliminary research to even get within a country mile of any grant money, making it nearly impossible for innovative research to get funded. As the federal science budget continues to fall, this trend is expected to continue, undermining scientific innovation and discovery. Pedal the Cause completely sidesteps this process and directly funds very promising projects.

Community Pedal the Cause forces one to walk outside their comfort bubble and engage new people. I had the incredible fortune of being able to use Pedal the Cause fundraising as a bit of an icebreaker to get to know people at my new company, Epic Sciences. To make a long story short, I embarked on a fundraising campaign that involved getting many of my friends, old and new, to donate between $1 and $5 for every time I managed to go up and down Torrey Pines Grade in 5 hours. It was a LOT of fun and a great challenge. More here. I would like to give a huge thank you to my colleagues at Epic Sciences, who provided the lion’s share of donations for fundraising. There really is no shortage of generous, driven, empathetic, genuine people in the cancer / oncology community here in San Diego. It is my hope that Pedal the Cause will continue to grow, and attract more wonderful people to this burgeoning regional cultural event.

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